Suitable Ecological Management of Forest Dynamics
A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecology and Management".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 26 September 2025 | Viewed by 10
Special Issue Editor
Interests: silviculture; forest stand dynamics; restoration ecology; landscape-level forest health; ecophysiology; rural development; agroforestry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Silviculturists have long focused on managing in a way that combines taking what nature can give and the needs and desires of the forest landowner. This Special Issue aims to focus on the intersection between the stages of forest stand development and appropriate management decision-making at that point in time. Articles may focus on the particular model of stand dynamics they are using, outline the patterns of development in such stands, and match them up with appropriate management activities. For example, understory reinitiation under open or low-density overstories in arid land forests may create dangerous fuel conditions and necessitate pre-commercial thinning that reduces most but not all of the saplings and small trees. Recreating at least the macro-structure of a mature old-growth forest may require some aggressive thinning early on but then be limited to minimal or no further treatments. An at-risk predator that feeds on different guilds of prey, each dependent upon a specific age/size/composition class of forest, could require a coordinated harvest pattern that both provides habitats for these prey while ensuring a continuity of forest cover and composition into the future. Knowledge of the specific stages of stand development can aid managers in making the most appropriate decisions, particularly given the expected and hypothetical range of variation. We seek the submission of both original research and review papers to this Special Issue, focused on both single-species and mixed-species landscapes and welcome papers on uncommon management activities, such as precommercial thinning.
Dr. W. Keith Moser
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- stages of stand development
- “ecological” silviculture
- complexity
- mixed- and single-species
- age classes
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